No Longer Here
by MaximumAlchemist
Summary: Akari Sayomi hasn't found her happy ending. Where is it? Is it that far away? Will she ever get it? Or is it...just within her grasp? Sequel to 'To Stride Forward'.


**Hi, this is the sequel to 'To Stride Forward'. **

**I present to you:**

'**No Longer Here' **

**Enjoy!**

**ON WITH THE SEQUEL! **

I stared out the window of classroom B-70, watching the clouds float past and shadows of birds flicker in and out of sight, the sun in my face.

For the past few months, everything was calm and tranquil. Sure, a crowd of people swarmed against me as soon as I came back to attend school, trying to suffocate me with questions. Sure, everything was normal afterwards. Sure, Hibiki no longer bugged me and finally got the guts to get a girlfriend.

But then again, after so many 'A-OK's' and 'Sure's', why was there a 'but' sticking out?

Why was the world so _artificial?_

Why did it seem so _hollow? _

"Akari? Akari?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and faced the front. "Yes, Sensei?" I asked.

Sensei frowned at me. "Did you hear my description on how the human body shuts down when they die?"

Icy frost seemed to cover my insides. My tongue felt nasty and dry all of a sudden, and my throat twisted up.

"Well? Hmm? Hmm?" she snapped impatiently.

I opened my mouth to reply, but what came out was, "Ig idndt aehr, dna ig tdon htaw ot wokn."

Sensei's frown deepened, as she said, "Excuse me?"

I cleared my throat, earning a giggle from the girls in the back. I shot them a death glare and said, "Rsryo. Uh—um, I meant 'sorry'."

Sensei looked at me suspiciously, then turned back to the board and continued blabbing about how the hearts and—I just didn't want to hear. I tuned out and continued staring at the blue sky out of the window.

"AKARI!"

I jolted up, knocking over my textbook, and it landed open on the floor, to the page about tuberculosis.

I looked down the page, my throat closing up. I hastily picked up the book and slammed it shut, laying it on the table. The noise echoed around the room.

I kicked my chair aside, making others flinch at the _bang _that it made as it hit the desk.

"Akari? What on earth is this all about?" Sensei asked as she came around her desk, her sharpened chalk clutched in her hand like a knife.

I pushed past the aisles and swung the door aside and burst out into the hallway, crying.

_I: You Took Everything Away_

I curled up in the last stall of the girl's lavatory on the second floor, tears streaming down my face.

_Plink, plink, plink. _The leaky faucet dripped in harmony with my tears.

The world seemed so unfair, so dicey. It was uneven, it hurt. Why? _Why? _

I traced his face along the tiled floors of the bathroom, no lines appearing under my fingers, like how our relationship has been—not even able to scratch the surface of love.

He'd meant everything, and solely everything to me, yet it proves how the world was just plain old cruel. It took everything I'd loved—Hibiki's old, sweet, caring personality, and replaced it with the equivalent to a demon's, straight from hell.

It took my legs. My legs, the same ones that I had been using for fifteen years.

It took _him. _The only one that had really captured my heart, the perfect one, whatever you wanted to describe him.

It was just too painful, even just to say the name.

I buried my face in my knees, straining to keep quiet, not letting anyone hear me.

_II: Ridiculous Life, Rejected Life_

I sat far away from everyone, far away, the very far corner on the last row.

I sighed and sat down, laying my lunch box on the table.

Goulash in a canteen. Good. That may help a little.

"Hey, bitch! Wassup? Got good grub?"

I closed my eyes and prayed silently. _Please God. Don't let it be them. _

"Hey. I asked you a question. You gonna cough up something?"

I opened my eyes reluctantly, not facing the voice.

"Oi. Look when you're spoken to."

I felt a pair of rough hands grab me by my uniform collar, jerking me upwards. Instantly, I was face-to-face with a disgusting, hairy—_ogre_. Behind him were several of his clones and one feminine toothpick.

I turned my head, not wanting to look at him.

"Hey! Lookit me."

I didn't give an answer_. Avoid eye contact, _that's what he would say while covering my eyes with his hands.

My vision blurred, eyes stinging. I bit my lip, determined not to break down.

"Pssh, you're trash."

"Yeah, _trash," _they echoed.

I felt myself being dumped on the ground, and was about to let out a relieved sigh when I felt something warm and wet being dumped on me.

I opened my eyes and found that I was dripping wet with orange liquid, which turned out to be my lunch.

I sat there and blinked, not wanting to get up, wanted to be left alone and die.

The gorillas roared with laughter, slapping each other merrily.

"C'mon, let's go. Don't want to waste time with this retard."

I felt their footsteps retreat with victory.

_Don't let them get the best of you. _

My eyes widened as I looked around for a certain blond-haired boy among the crowd of onlookers.

For a split second, I saw a familiar face, adorned with bright sky-blue eyes smiling at me.

Then someone moved in front of it, it disappeared.

My left hand went up instinctively and traced my lips, and without my noticing, I felt the bitter salty taste of tears.

I was crying again.

I clutched my face, hands smelling of potato goulash. I didn't care if I was dripping wet or smelled of food, all I cared was I just saw him, and like trying to catch a drop of water between the palms of my hands, he slipped from my grasp.

_III: The Wish that Won't Come True_

I kicked a stray pebble away. The sun was setting, turning the entire city orange and gold.

"Will you marry me?"

I turned and saw a couple—a man kneeling in front of a woman covering her mouth in shock. In the man's hands was a glittering stone on a sliver loop, pinched between his thumb and forefinger.

The woman was weeping—except they were tears of happiness.

"Yes."

The man's face lit up considerately, like the star on a Christmas tree. He stood and slipped the tiny hoop on her ring finger. They leaned close together—and…

Their lips met.

I stood and watched, feeling a hollow, yet warm feeling in me. I fingered the strap of my book bag, rubbing it gently, feeling a melancholic happiness resounding in my heart.

"Congrats," I whispered.

_IV: Mindless Thoughts_

I laid awake that night, my arm across my forehead. I stared sideways at the alarm clock as it faded in and out of my line of vision.

I looked up, and the ceiling glowered back at me.

Why did the world seem so unfair to me? I couldn't get a grasp at the answer.

A feeling tugged at my gut, telling me to leave.

_But how? _

I opened the window slightly and crawled out.

_V: Are You Done?_

The park was deserted, as it was night.

The swing set swung slightly, being rocked by the wind. My shadow flickered across the streets, illuminated by the streetlamps.

I sat gently down on the swing, the set creaking slightly under my weight and my automail.

Now for the questions: Why did the world resent me? Why does everyone want prevent happiness from happening to me? Why?

If I were to suffer like this every day, what was the point of life? I was one in a billion, no, trillion, no—a number greater than infinite. If my life was lost, would it really matter?

I gazed up at the stars, the shining celestial heavens. They glowed brightly, like the time where we declared our wishes.

My hands gripped the straw rope of the swing, the fabric digging into my skin.

Was everything a lie? Was I ever going to get a break? Was I even meant to be born?

_Yes, yes you were, _he said.

My head snapped up, but there was no one there.

"Akari, you dummy," I told myself. "He's gone. You won't see him."

My hand crept up to my sleeve and grasped a smooth hilt, and pulled outwards.

I stared down at the wickedly sharp blade, the steel surface glinting in the light of the streetlamps and the moon.

For months, I'd pondered about death and suicide. I've always been picked on, ridiculed, teased, pushed around, and bossed around.

But I've always been afraid to die.

A warm wet tear traced its path on my cheek.

_Are you done rolling? _

I smiled.

_Yes. I'm done. _

My skin shattered, and something warm and painful seeped through my flesh.

I closed my eyes and sighed for the last time, my vision getting dimmer and dimmer.

I smiled at the heavens, the stars growing out of my vision.

_Please, God. Let me see his smile one more time._

Then everything faded to white.

_VI: Welcome Home_

I was in a white room, with no colors. Just white and shadows.

I could tell out the shapes—a blanket over my knees, a pillow behind me, a mattress under me.

I was in a hospital again.

But it was different—no nurses, no doctors. No one was there, as far as I could see.

I was alone.

So, my death hadn't changed anything. Typical. Everyone had a happy ending. Where was mine?

I gripped the blanket. Yeah. No walk in the park, thinking that you could get away with everything with the help death.

A shadow flickered across the room, startling me.

"G'morning…"

I whirled around and if I had a working heart, it would've started beating two times faster.

He managed a crooked grin, his eyes sleepy, but already filled with energy.

I bit my lip, but the tears were already springing to my eyes.

He tilted his head, confused.

"What's with that face?" he asked, approaching me.

I launched myself out of bed and crashed into him with an enormous bear-with-automail-hug.

He caught me in surprise, then pulled me into a tight warm embrace.

"Akari…you dummy."

I breathed in his scent of lilacs and lavender and smiled contently. I had found my true happy ending…

...at last.

"I know, Alfons."


End file.
